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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27315403">It's Not Unusual (Until It Is)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demenior/pseuds/Demenior'>Demenior</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Sentinels &amp; Guides, Canon Compliant, Gen, Worldbuilding</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 21:07:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,887</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27315403</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demenior/pseuds/Demenior</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Matt is a Sentinel, Shiro is a Guide. They are completely average, completely unremarkable in their abilities. until they go to space, and find out they're the exception.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Matt Holt &amp; Shiro</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>It's Not Unusual (Until It Is)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Once upon a time I was going to write a Sentinel &amp; Guide au! I was just trying to figure out my voice, tone and set-up for it, but it never got past what would have been the "opening" chapter. So, this has been sitting in my wips for years now, and I was convinced to share it for the end of Wip-tober!</p><p>FULL DISCLOSURE I.... have read like ONE Sentinel/Guide au once, and that was years ago, and that's basically all the research I did for this asldkjsldfjsklfj</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Humanity at it’s onset was ugly, laughably small in a world full of things trying to eat them, and overwhelmingly stubborn in the face of natural selection. One such refusal to give up and die took form in the roles of the Sentinel and Guides, or, Gifted, as they’re now called.</p><p>Sentinel and Guide were two sides of the same coin. Which one came first, of course, is constantly under debate, but it tends to be accepted that of course the Sentinel came first. As protector of the tribe, they would naturally develop first. Those of hyper-developed senses, minds that leap and bound in thought ahead of their peers, and an overwhelming desire to protect those they love.</p><p>And these same traits would have driven them all mad, and led to Sentinels killing each other and other tribes at random, or even attacking their own tribes if they were unable to handle the overwhelm of their senses. Being an early Sentinel must have been very similar to giving a toddler a box of fireworks and a lit flame, and then being shocked when the toddler scares itself shitless when it sets everything on fire.</p><p>So, naturally, this is why it is theorized that Guides developed. Throughout history it has been shown that bonding a Sentinel to a Guide, or even just letting a Guide have influence on an unbonded Sentinel, has amazing effects on calming a Sentinel mind. In the aforementioned toddler, fireworks, and destruction metaphor, the Guide is the babysitter who knows well enough to take away the dangers until the toddler is old enough to handle them.</p><p>Of course, this is simply the leading theory as to how the Gifted came about, and it could be completely wrong.</p><p>Guides and Sentinels have always balanced each other, though clearly Guides must balance more. A Sentinel mind is simply so bright and powerful, with so many triggers, that it’s important that a Sentinel learn how to control themselves before they fall prey to their senses.</p><p>Not that a Guide cannot do the same. Guides who push themselves too far, holding onto too many unruly toddlers all running with scissors or matches in their own way, have been known to wear themselves so thin they never come back as whole. But this is very rare, in fact, to the point that Guide burnout is more often credited to encountering a Sentinel who is too much for them to control. A powerful Sentinel can damage, and even destroy a weak Guide, and there are many cases of unbonded Sentinels descending on an unprepared Guide’s mind and tearing it to shreds in an attempt to bond and stabilize themselves.</p><p>It’s a balance, as all things are. A natural cycle of things. Life, death. Fire, water. Sentinel, Guide. And as humanity moves away from it’s tribal, bottom-of-the-food-chain roots, there becomes less and less a need for Gifted, but there’s not enough reason to get rid of them, so they continue being born, though their abilities are beginning to “mute” themselves, so the modern slang goes.</p><p>Even the once-sacred bond becomes less common. Only Gifted that tip the scale in strength are strongly suggested to find a partner to bond with, if for their own benefit. An unbonded mind is no longer unusual, and no longer a threat, as the Sentinels weaken and the Guides grow fainter.</p><p>There are incredible powerful Gifted in the world, even today, but this story isn’t about them.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>When Matthew Holt was six, he began displaying above-average deductive skills for a child his age, which lead his parents to assume he may develop as Gifted. When this was later coupled with a bout of extreme sensitivity to fabrics or physical sensations, he was taken to a doctor where he was formally examined, tested, and declared a Sentinel.</p><p>Not a true Sentinel, of course, as those are incredibly rare. But it’s a mouthful to say ‘partially-a-Sentinel’ and so unless it’s specified to be a True Sentinel, then everyone knows that you mean a Sentinel with only a few hyper-developed senses.</p><p>He went to special classes to learn how to manage his hyper-sensitive skin, as well as to learn how to keep from overloading his mind. Not that that ever stopped him from trying.</p><p>Matt was a Sentinel in a family where only one parent, his mother, was Gifted. She was a Guide, average, normal and forgettable in her abilities. To have such a young manifestation was moderately unusual, but the Holt’s learned to temper their son’s obsessive focus and keep him balanced.</p><p>When Katie came along, and began to show similar focus and aptitude for reasoning at four years old, Colleen and Samuel could only assume they had another Gifted child. Though Katie never developed any other signs of being Gifted, she was still taken in to be tested. And while she was not Gifted, not in the historical sense, she was gifted in the modern sense in that she was a prodigy in mathematics.</p><p>Matthew Holt attended a weekly after-school class where, along with a mix of other Gifted, they were taught and trained on how to stay safe and manage their instincts in the modern world. They learned the history of why Sentinels and Guides were theorized to exist, common stereotypes and misconceptions they might have about their Gifted status, and most importantly, they learned how to greet and interact with other Gifted on a mental level, without hurting themselves or others.</p><p>At five years old Matt had already decided he was going to work “at the Space Place” just like his father. With his good grades, excellent behavior, and the reputation of Sam in front of him, Matt had good chances of achieving his dreams.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Takashi Shirogane came from a long line of Gifted, so it should not have been a shock that he was also Gifted. What was a shock, however, was how young he manifested. He was raised by two not-Gifted grandparents, who were unable to sense his manifestation, and as a result, he was a very temperamental and difficult child, especially when someone else was in a sour mood. When he was five, and finally beginning to speak, he threw a tantrum about eating lunch, and it took nearly an hour of consoling him before he was able to explain that it was the <em>dog</em> who hated her kibbles that he was projecting.</p><p>He was taken in immediately for testing, and shown to be presenting as a Guide. Guides often manifest younger than Sentinels, so this was not surprising. Takashi was put into training very quickly to learn how to dampen his senses and cut himself off from the energy of other people. He quickly became a mature, pleasant child to be around. Though he still preferred the dogs companionship over other children, as they were often too emotional for him to handle. This was completely normal behavior for any Guide, and showed that there was nothing unusual at all about Takashi.</p><p>At eight years old he decided he wanted to fly a spaceship and dedicated himself to that dream.</p><p>After his twice-a-week Guide Training, he would race home to finish his homework and then begin working on memorizing all the parts of a spaceship, and all of the qualifications he would need to become an astronaut.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Takashi and Matt meet in the Galaxy Garrison. As unbonded Gifted, they are both trained in how to greet someone of the opposite nature, and they are both cautiously respectful not to press where they are not wanted. As competitive men, they discreetly test their wills and come back finding themselves pleased that they are nearly matched, and completely average.</p><p>Matt is a comedy of a Sentinel— for all his sensitivity to textures still, as well as his fast-track mind, his eyesight is less than ideal and his large glasses on his thin frame make him look comically frail.</p><p>Takashi has grown up tall and broad in the shoulder, and while they were both raised not to believe stereotypes, Takashi does not look like one would expect a Guide to look. He’s imposing and demands respect, and impulsive and witty.</p><p>Matt does not look like one would expect a Sentinel to look, and the two of them find this match-up quite funny.</p><p>They get along well, to the relief of the team putting together the Kerberos crew. No one was sure what would happen to an unbonded Gifted having to go into the furthest reaches of the solar system with only other non-gifted. This way, especially, having a Guide and a Sentinel should keep each other balanced when all the other minds from earth fade away.</p><p>Matt and Takashi have discussed becoming Bonded. It’s a fairly uncommon practice in the modern world, as most Gifted know enough unbonded Gifted and have a wide enough social circle to keep themselves grounded. And most modern Gifted aren’t living in the same intense lifestyles that demanded bonded pairs in the past for everyone’s survival. But, the two of them get along well, are equally matched in their average abilities, <em>and</em> they would be the first pair to ever bond in space.</p><p>And that’s really the whole appeal.</p><p>The discussion is on the table, and they have over six months worth of time to consider it once they’re in space, so they don’t discuss it much longer after a few conversations mixed with beers.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>The discussion about becoming bonded becomes relevant again when they meet the Galra.</p><p>How shocking to find an alien species at the edges of the known solar system, or, rather, how shocking for an alien species to find <em>them</em>.</p><p>The three-man team that forms the Kerberos Crew are taken hostage, and brought before the ships captain before they are sent into the depths of the ship to be imprisoned.</p><p>“Shiro, Shiro,” Matt hisses in the dark, “do you you feel it?”</p><p>The two of them were raised and trained how to interact with other Gifted, how to be polite and show your status, and not to ‘step on anyone’s (figurative) toes’, so the saying goes. They’re respectful boys, mindful of their training. Mindful of the societal norms.</p><p>“What? Feel what?” Sam asks. He’s not Gifted— not like Matt and Shiro. He can’t feel the minds around them.</p><p>Takashi can feel Matt’s walls pushing up against his own, masking him for what he is. Matt’s been struggling to draw attention, to keep Shiro hidden.</p><p>It’s a pointless question. How could Takashi <em>not</em> feel them. It’s like standing in the middle of dozens of spotlights, all casting about and threatening to find him. They’re on <em>fire</em>— wild, untamed things that are so out of control they’re burning themselves up.</p><p>“All of them— these aliens,” Matt tries to explain, but he’s moving for Takashi. Maybe it’s friendship, maybe it’s instinctual from his Sentinel mind to protect a Guide. Takashi slides down the wall of their cell, staring into space. He wants to bury his mind, he wants to hide. Matt presses in against him, and the physical touch helps Matt’s mind slide over his, strengthening Takashi’s defenses and hiding his Guide mind from the dangerous thoughts shrieking around them.</p><p>“They’re Sentinels,” Takashi whispers, looking to Sam, “the Galra are all Sentinels and they’re all unbonded.”</p><p>That’s <em>very</em> unusual.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The idea was that the Galra were also a Sentinel/Guide species, but had gone the route of deciding that Guides were "weak" and ended up as a species of either not-gifted or just Sentinels, which is why they're so #dramatic and wild, cause there's no one telling them to hakkunah their tatas. In a reverse of canon, Matt is the one who goes out of his way to be aggressive and protect Shiro, this story would have gone on to see the Galra end up discovering Shiro was a Guide, making him a Hot Commodity. Matt eventually escapes the Galra, steals a spaceship and ends up on Earth, effectively taking the "Shiro" position (unclear if he was going to be the Black Paladin, or the leader of the Paladins). </p><p>Meanwhile Shiro, under Haggar's influence, would have had his Guide abilities manipulated to the point that they could be weaponized and Shiro could be used to "influence" even non-Gifted into things (it would be played like a very perverse type of mind control). Shiro would have dealt with Galra politics, not being able to trust anyone around him, and eventually working with Lotor, who wouldn't be exiled, or maybe he was, but Lotor is the only other unbonded Guide that Shiro would know. The story may have ended up going Shiro/Lotor, but I never got that far haha. it could even have ended up as a Matt/Shiro/Lotor triangle. Who knows?! </p><p>At some point Lotor would have stolen Shiro away and gotten him to the Paladins, but it would be very unclear if Lotor really was helping Shiro, if he was planning on using Shiro's abilities for himself, OR, if Shiro was manipulating things all along. At this point it's like a choose your own adventure!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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